The present invention relates to a method and to an apparatus for sewing the toe of tubular textile items on a toe sewing machine. The invention falls into the technical field of machines and equipment for producing stocking and other hosiery items, starting from tubular textile items, and relates in particular to the toe sewing operations in a toe sewing machine.
As is known, the production of hosiery items and stockings consists in closing the tubular textile item, representing e.g. the leg of the stocking or a sock, on its end so as to make a toe: this operation, when automated, typically involves a “toe sewing” machine or “toe closer”.
Generally, a “toe closer” comprises a plurality of support tubes onto which the tubular textile items are individually loaded; the machine adapts the open end of the leg to the curve to be obtained for sewing and closes the toe by sewing, then the textile item is unloaded from its respective mold. Typically, toe sewing operations consists in flattening the end of the tubular textile item, so as to define two fabric edges overlapping the end of the tubular textile item, and then sewing such two edges so as to close the textile item and make the toe. The toe, once the textile item is unloaded, is made of an arc-shaped seam defining the closed end of the item.
These toe sewing operations are automated by means of a toe closer, which receives sequentially a plurality of tubular items and sews the toe of each of them; the toe closer is typically characterized by a high operating speed and by a large seaming repeatability, in order to increase global productivity and product uniformity.
An example of a toe closer is described in patent document GB 1501869 A.
The Applicant has found that known methods and apparatuses for seaming the toe of tubular textile items are not without drawbacks and can be improved under various aspects.
A typical drawback of known solutions relates to the manner in which the operating cycle makes the seam at the end of the tubular item: in other words, once the seam is completed, the remaining fabric over the seam, if present, is removed (by cutting), and the sock (or stocking leg) is unloaded from the toe sewing machine, the seam is placed at the end of the two fabric edges of the tubular item which have been flattened before sewing. This means that, once the sock or stocking is fitted onto the user's foot, the seam is placed on the user's foot tip, i.e. at the front end of the foot, where it contacts in particular the toes. This can make the use of the sock or stocking uncomfortable since the seam (which is typically harder, thicker and stiffer of the surrounding, unsewn fabric) can rub over, interfere with or get stuck on the toes. Generally, the extreme position of the seam can be uncomfortable and reduce the comfort of use of the sock or stocking.
These typical drawbacks of socks and stockings made with known methods and apparatuses are more evident in the case of products designed for medical (i.e. therapeutic stocking) or sports use, where a higher comfort in use is required.
Another drawback of known methods and apparatuses consists in making toes of socks and stocking in which the seam, due to its end position, is visible: this can be an undesired aesthetic element and lower the quality of the manufactured sock or stocking.
Another drawback of known methods and apparatuses consists in that the operating cycle is fixed and can only make seams as described above. In detail, known methods and apparatuses can automate the operations for making the toes of socks and stockings, but to this purpose they are necessarily limited to seams as described above, with the disclosed drawbacks. In other words, it is theoretically possible to manually make sock or stocking toes with seams without the drawbacks mentioned above, but it cannot be provided for a seam which is not an arc at the end of the sock or stocking in an automated and fast manner and with known solutions.